1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a card case storing an IC card.
2. Related Art
A storage element storing a thin card such as a magnetic bar or a chip has been currently known in a card case. The Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-130912 is an example of related art.
Such storage element prevents damage when inserting a card into a storage chamber, or prevents information contained in a magnetic bar from being partially damaged.
On the other hand, an IC card (smart card) mounted with an IC (integrated circuit) chip has recently been proposed. Such an IC card, by comparison to a magnetic stripe card, realizes higher capacity of information, improved capacity for security (preventing counterfeit, alteration, and illicit use), capability to cope with a plurality of applications, reduction of a host load (capable of off-line processing), and the like.
Further, an IC card equipped with a switch which permits a user to input specific information or select various applications or with a finger print sensor for personal verification has been proposed.
When storing an IC card equipped with a switch or a finger print sensor in a card case (storage element) described in the above-referenced patent document, there is a problem of pressing the switch through inadvertent or some unexpected contact to cause wrong operation. Further, there is another problem with the finger print sensor on whose surface is formed a thin passivation film which may be damaged by a scratch.